Editor’s note: Gao Lei, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate professor at the Center for Xi Jinping Thoughts on Opening-up, Research Institute of Globalization and China’s Modernization, University of International Business & Economics. Gao Yuxiang is a post-graduate student at the School of Marxism, University of International Business & Economics. Xia Lu, a special commentator for CGTN, is a research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, National Academy for Development & Strategy, the Academy of Xi Jinping Thoughts on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Renmin University of China. The article reflects the authors’ opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
In July 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), emphasized that the spirit of assisting the Xizang Autonomous Region is a noble spirit of the CPC and a significant advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics. This heritage must be passed down from generation to generation, as it displays the mission of the Chinese government to write a new chapter of long-term stability and high-quality development on the snowy plateau with a high degree of responsibility and an indomitable attitude of struggle, demonstrating the superiority of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.
The spirit of assisting Xizang promotes rapid and consistent regional development
The year 1994 is of great significance to Xizang. Under the guidance of the CPC Central Committee, major livelihood projects such as transportation, electricity power stations, education, and medical care have begun.
The Third Forum on Work of Xizang was held in 1994, which was unprecedented in terms of its high standard, scale, and number of problems solved. The forum developed a standardized work model of pairing assistance, laid down the general principle of maintaining social stability and speeding up Xizang’s development, and made a decision to assist Xizang in the construction of 62 projects.
The central authorities and the entire China supporting Xizang has become a consistent policy of the CPC Central Committee. The country has put great effort into helping Xizang establish a modern industrial system, integrating agriculture and animal husbandry with modern science and technology, and laying down economic foundations for Xizang to promote modernization.
New ideas to promote new channels under the Belt and Road Initiative
As an important participant in the “Southern Silk Road” and the “Ancient Tea Horse Road” in history, Xizang is also an important gateway for exchanges between China and South Asian countries in the new era. In the past decade, Xizang has taken economic and trade cooperation as an important boost and has continued to strengthen investment cooperation with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries, carrying out 24 foreign investment projects, including 20 in Nepal, one in Myanmar and three in Tajikistan, with a cumulative investment amount of $342 million, involving air transportation, mineral development, retail, textiles, service industries and other fields.
Over the past decade, in order to be deeply integrated into the BRI, on one hand, Xizang has been coordinated with the development of Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai and other neighboring provinces, giving full play to Xizang’s advantages in location, passage and economic and trade cooperation, and connecting with the new land-sea corridor in China’s west.
On the other hand, the construction of an open economic belt along the border has been accelerated, connecting internal and external integration and achieving mutual benefit and win-win results, and jointly building the Trans-Himalayan Economic Cooperation Corridor with South Asian countries as well as actively integrating into the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
Based on the general idea of “taking port connectivity as the foundation and the open-oriented industries as the core,” Xizang has promoted the construction of important corridors for opening up to South Asia. The China-Nepal trade land route has opened up the passage for the five inland provinces (regions) to open up to South Asia, accelerated the formation of an international trade and logistics network covering China’s west and even the whole country, and the construction of the new land-sea channel running through China’s southwest region, promoting the economic development of the region to connect with ASEAN and the world.
In the future, the comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network in Xizang will lay a solid foundation for the further construction of the South Asia land corridor, making Xizang an important hub channel and the most cutting-edge “bridgehead” for China’s opening up and development to the South Asian region.
To embrace complementary development with an open attitude
Regional characteristics determine the core competitiveness of industrial innovation in the external landscape. As the national “Belt and Road” transportation interconnection continues to make new breakthroughs, Xizang has scientifically formulated a regional tourism development plan and expanded the opening up of the tourism industry. In recent years, Xizang has accelerated the development of high-tech digital industries, built a digital port for South Asia, and promoted digital industrialization and industrial digitization.
As an important node of China’s external communication and exchanges, Xizang has played and will continue to play a significant role in connecting Nepal, Bhutan, India, Myanmar and several other countries along the Belt and Road. Different from the “interest” game of the Western powers, the BRI not only emphasizes the promotion of economic globalization in an open, inclusive, balanced and win-win direction but also pays much attention to win-win cooperation and appreciation of the future of civilization and prosperity with the attitude of common development.
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